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Once the new gate is installed, walkers will be able to gain access to the trail between dawn and dusk.

Mr LeBonge said the site had to be closed at night due to safety concerns and told the Los Angeles Times: ‘There's a necessity for a gate at this location because of its overwhelming popularity.’

Safety measure: A wrought-iron gate will be installed at the top of Beachwood Drive

He said it was important to balance the needs of visitors and hikers with those of local homeowners, who have complained about traffic in the area and the number of tourists visiting the site to take photographs.

Last year, residents put up posters in the neighbourhood, declaring the area around the iconic sign a ‘tourist-free zone’.

Locals said they were concerned that the area’s winding, narrow roads could not cope with so much traffic.

They also complained that visitors leave litter and cigarette butts, which can cause a hazard on the parched hillside in the summer.

The 45-foot high sign is a popular tourist draw and visitor numbers have increased recently due to the fact that GPS systems, internet maps and blogs lead tourists to previously unknown locations close to the sign.

There are also more than 40 companies offering Hollywood sign viewing tours, often using large buses or vans to ferry tourists in and out of the canyon.

In 2011, residents tried to reclaim their neighbourhood by making signs that read: ‘Warning - Tourist-Free Zone - All Tourists Leave the Area.’

Others tooks photographs of illegally-parked cars and posted videos on YouTube to illustrate the disruption.

‘They're in the middle of the street, they don't move,’ said area resident Ronald Page.

‘You have to blow your horn, cars going around, people hollering up there and what have you. It's just getting out of hand now.’

Snap happy: Local residents have complained about the number of tourists visiting the site to take photographs

Residents also said that the influx of tourist vehicles could prevent emergency vehicles from attending incidents in the neighbourhoods.

But fire chief Joe Castro said he had never experienced difficulty reaching an emergency in the 33 years of service to protect the hills.

Some people called for the site to be omitted from internet maps completely, whilst others deemed it near impossible to prevent tourist curiosity.

Instead, they prefer to direct tourists to nearby Lake Hollywood - a man-made reservoir which offers parking and views of the sign.

Star City Tours guide Tim Eggers said: ‘This is an international landmark. They should have thought of that before they bought their houses.’

The sign was erected in 1923 by Hollywoodland Real Estate Group as a billboard for its exclusive housing development – later dropping the last four letters and becoming an icon for the film industry.

It has attracted considerable attention to ensure protection in the past: from nature conservation groups to Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, who famously donated $900,000 to protect the surrounding land from property developers.

Mr Le Bonge said: ‘I welcome every tourist that comes to this city, because it's important to our economy. But we're working on the challenges.’